1. First thing in the morning when you wake up, do you look at your phone? If so, what do you search?
My human alarm (my 18 month old son, Rafa) wakes me up around 6am every morning. I check my phone for overnight messages, religiously log into the lead stories on news.com.au and SMH and do a quick email check to make sure there’s nothing urgent waiting for me.
There’s little time to attend to anything straight up however…Rafa is ready to consume my attention.
2. Are you a coffee or tea drinker and what kind?
My first outing every day is to Lox Stock & Barrel in Bondi to get a homemade almond milk latte and babychino. Grabbing my morning coffee is not just about fuelling my system for the day, it’s about community. Every day I engage with someone new at Lox Stock. I love learning about other people’s lives that are different to mine. Hearing their stories is enriching (like Kineta, who came to Australia as a Muay Thai boxer. She’s tiny but I love that she is a kickboxer!).
3. You always imagined growing up you’d be?
Julie Bishop stole my job. When I was at secondary school I was convinced I would go into politics and I wanted to be the first female Foreign Minister. I majored in Politics and English Literature. When I failed to get into Australia’s most prestigious PR course, two years running, I certainly didn’t think I had a future in PR.
4. THRIVE PR came about from….
I started a charity event almost two decades ago called Starry Starry Night. I read a book called “To Have And To Hold” by Walter Mikac who lost his two daughters and his wife in the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996. I was inspired to contact the charity he started soon after the tragedy, The Alannah & Madeline Foundation, and suggested we run a fundraising night with some celebrity friends. The first year, one hundred celebrities hosted tables, and almost one thousand people bought tickets. Unbeknown to me, some of the most influential people in the country were on the board of The Alannah & Madeline Foundation. That event was the springboard for my business. I am forever grateful that the board and the Foundation’s network had faith in me, and started to refer me a lot of PR work…a few years after the first Starry, Thrive started. Thrive continued to run the event for over a decade raising over $7 million dollars for child victims of crime.
I learnt very early from that experience that giving, and not expecting anything in return, delivers ten fold.
I chose the name “Thrive” for its definition : “To grow vigorously, flourish and be successful.” That’s what I wanted to help my team achieve, I wanted that for my clients and suppliers, and I wanted that for my own career. That definition drives me today.
5. When women are negative it makes you…
Frustrated. Women or Men, I need to be more patient with negative people. I make a big effort to surround myself, my family and my Thrive team, with lots of positive energy. I have never been in a dark place myself, but I do understand and appreciate that sometimes negativity is triggered by certain factors beyond one’s control. I do feel a responsibility with my own team and the people around me, to inject positive energy, to help with perspective and to create a supportive environment.
6: When women support one another you…
Cheer! I love being a cheerleader for other women. I try to be the one that people know they can come to for help or advice. At Thrive, we celebrate lots of successes together. Women supporting women is just so cool!
7. One thing you keep close to your chest (until now is)…
I am such an open book. I need to come back on that one!
8. To all those women who are negative on social media you’d say…
Support other women! Women should feel safe and empowered online. There are programs and tools to manage negativity. #PositionOfStrength is a program Thrive developed for Twitter with a very inspiring woman, Julie Inman-Grant who was the region’s Public Policy Director. It is a program that has been delivered by Twitter in many countries around the globe and is now a movement that combats negativity and takes women to a position of strength on their social media platforms.
9: If you could express one piece of QueenHood advice to working women you would say…
Work hard and manage your relationships well. I love the saying by Pablo Picasso…“Action is the foundational key to all success.” It’s not enough to have a good idea. You need to be able to action it, and commonly with pace.
10: The never ending quest for balance between work life and family life you take on by…
Dedicating hours every day to spend time with my son and having a “team” approach with my partner, Matty. I am very fortunate that from years of hard work, my business now affords me the flexibility to spend time with my son at different times each day. I don’t work normal hours, although I work a lot more than a standard working week. I am generally “always on” but I also give myself strict “off time”. I have a jam packed social life and we are always booking time to catch up with friends and family. I’m also very lucky to love spending time with my team and my clients so many work occasions don’t feel so much like work. Matty and I share responsibilities with our son. I could not run my business without his support.
11: Your toughest, almost “give up” moment of THRIVE PR came…
Tough moments for me have been people related. Sometimes you predict that someone might behave a certain way, and when they don’t it’s hard not to feel disappointed. I have learnt not to take resignations personally any more, but I used to get really upset and feel that I’d failed. Now I have a stronger sense of all the things we are doing well at Thrive, what needs improvement, and when not to be offended!
12: When you’re in work mode you are best described as…
Energetic and passionate! I am “all in” every day. I actually need to make an effort to tone it down so I don’t scare new clients off!
13: The legacy you hope to leave is…
The growth and development of my Thrivers…both male and female. I have a job to do in the Parenting Policy space. I know my business can make a difference to help government improve the childcare system and the environment for working parents. Thrive introduced Working Parent and Flexi-Time Policies earlier this year. I’m in a position where I can create an environment that nurtures working parents and accelerates the career potential of women. I have a lot of work to do to get where I want to be in this space.
INSTA @leilaniabels @thrivepr
